Lettable Standard

We want you to enjoy turning our house into your home. For our part, we commit that on moving day your new home will be

w Legal and safe

w Ready to let

That commitment to you is our Lettable Standard.

Cleaning will be carried out when work is complete. We want you to know what will and won’t be done, so that you can make an informed choice about whether you want to take the property.

Occasionally, if we get it wrong, the Lettable Standard helps us put it right for you and learn for the future.

Legal and safeYour home meets all legally-required inspections.

w Electrical installations including lights, fuses and plug sockets will be inspected and tested.

w Gas appliances such as fires, boilers and heaters will be inspected and tested.

w You will be provided with a copy of up-to-date Gas and Energy Performance Certificates.

If your home is in a block of flats it will have had a fire risk assessment

We will ensure there are no obvious slips, trips or potential hazards within your home, or its approach and garden, if there is one. We will make sure that there are bannisters or handrails to any staircase and landing.

Ready to letYour new home will be ready for you to move into. To help you understand what we mean by that, we have set out a home checklist and included some detail about what that means in each part of your home. We have also included example images of what is not acceptable.

Your home will w Be wind and water tight and secure.

w Have hot and cold water provision.

w Be secure, with a minimum of one key for each external door.

w Have windows that open and close (where designed to do so).

w Be cleaned (as set out in the Standard cleaning section).

w Have a safe and usable form of heating.

w Have internal doors that open and close properly.

w Have at least one smoke detector.

Your kitchen w There will be hot and cold water.

w Kitchen units will be securely fixed. Doors and drawers will open and close properly.

w Work surfaces will be sound and cleanable. Surfaces will not be badly scratched or chipped so that they are unhygienic for food preparation.

w The kitchen taps will be in good condition and will not leak or drip. A plug and chain will be provided.

w There will be at least one row of tiles or splashback in good condition above the work surfaces.

w There will be space for a standard sized (620mm) cooker. There will be either an electric or gas point for your cooker .

w It is your responsibility to arrange connection of your cooker by a Gas Safe Registered engineer or qualified electrician.

w We will provide a standard space for a fridge or freezer.

w Valves and waste for an automatic washing machine will be in place.

w If the existing kitchen units or tiles are no longer available, we will find alternatives which match as closely as possible.

Badly mismatched tiles Dirty drawer Damaged work surface

Your ceilings and walls w Wallpaper in good condition or with minor

damage will be retained.

w We will remove badly damaged wallpaper from walls and ceilings and leave the room ready for decoration.

w There will be no polystyrene tiles.

w Walls will be free from damp or mould.

Heavily stained wall and ceiling

Your bathroom and toilet w Will have hot and cold water.

w Will have a bath and/or shower, washbasin and toilet. All will be fitted securely, with watertight seals.

w There will be a plug and chain for the washbasin and bath.

w Baths will have panels fitted.

w Taps will be in good condition on the bath and washbasin and will not leak or drip.

w The toilet will work properly.

w There will be tiles above the washbasin and bath. If there is a shower, it will be fully tiled. The tiles will be in a good, clean condition and grouted.

w If the existing bathroom tiles are no longer available, we will find alternatives which match as closely as possible.

Your floors and stairs w We will not provide carpets, laminated or

wooden floor coverings. If they are left by the previous tenant in good condition and you want to keep them they can be “gifted” to you. You will be asked to sign a form to accept responsibility for the gifted items when you sign for the tenancy. We will not be responsible for their maintenance.

w Skirting boards and stairs will be free from major splits, missing sections and major defects.

w Solid floors will be free from major faults and free from trip hazards.

Carpet trip hazardDamaged stairs or skirting Damaged floor

Missing tiles Damaged walls Dirty bath Dirty toilet

Your doors, internal woodwork, windows and glazing w Fire doors will meet regulatory and legal

requirements.

w All internal and external doors will be in good condition and will open and close easily.

w Any cracked or broken glazing will be replaced.

w All internal woodwork will be in good condition.

w Misted windows will not be replaced, but will be

repaired or replaced as part of our MOT programme.

w Window restrictors will be fitted where necessary.

w We will treat any known vermin or flea infestation inside the property.

Damaged door Dirty window — covered in bird mess

Decoration w You are responsible for decorating the inside

of your home, including filling small holes and hairline cracks. We will fill larger holes (the size of a 50p piece or above) and any defective plaster.

w The inside of your home will be in a reasonable

decorative condition but may not be to your choice, e.g. pink walls or floral wallpaper. You are responsible for decorating your home to your specific requirements.

Damaged wallpaper

In exceptional circumstances we may offer a voucher as a contribution

towards the cost of decoration

Your heating and mains services w If the property has a gas supply, the supply and

any appliances will be tested to make sure they are safe and in working order

w Hot water cylinders, where fitted, will have an insulation jacket or lagging

w There will be a stop tap for water. We will let you know where to find the stop tap

Examples of stop taps

Outside, including garages w Roofs, walls, gutters and down pipes will be safe

and in working condition.

w We will remove rubbish from the front and back gardens, bin stores and sheds and they will be left in a condition that you can maintain.

w We will not provide or maintain sheds and other similar garden buildings. If they are left by the previous tenant in good condition and you want to keep them they can be “gifted” to you. You will be asked to sign a form to accept responsibility for the gifted items when you sign for the tenancy. We will not be responsible for their maintenance.

w Greenhouses will be removed.

w All rear boundaries walls or fences that are next to an open space or public access must be secure, stable and in good condition. Fences or post-and-wire boundaries between gardens are your responsibility .

w We will cut back any overgrown hedges, lawns and trees. The ongoing maintenance is your responsibility.

w Ponds will be filled in.

w Any brick built outbuildings will be empty and left in a safe and clean condition and the ongoing maintenance will be your responsibility.

Blocked drains

Communal areas w If your home has communal facilities such as

a drying area they will be maintained through service charges.

Standard cleaningWe will

w Sweep all paved areas

w Sweep, mop and dry tiled, concrete and hard floors

w Clean all storage cupboards and drawers

w Clean all glazed doors and internal window sills, glass and ledges.

w In exceptional circumstances where there is heavy soiling, we will also clean external windows and sills

w Remove or paint over any offensive writing or drawing

w Clean sinks, taps, plugs, worktops and tiles

w Clean and disinfect the shower, bath, washbasin, toilet and pipes

w Remove any rubbish from the loft

w Clean the front door

Dirty skirting board Dirty stairs

If, due to a specific individual circumstance or need, you have a concern about either moving into the home or managing once you have moved in, please discuss

this at the earliest opportunity with us before signing a tenancy agreement.

We may be able to meet your need, but if we can’t we will make this clear to you.

0300 300 0059www.severnsidehousing.co.ukBrassey Road, Old Potts Way, Shrewsbury, SY3 7FA

01785 312000www.ssha.co.uk

Acton Court, Acton Gate, Staffordshire, ST18 9AP

When will my home be improved?Every year we spend over £20 million on repairing, maintaining and improving our homes.

As a fair landlord, we plan improvement work on fixed timescales:

w Kitchens will be replaced when they are at least 20 years old

w Bathrooms are replaced when they are at least 30 years old

w Boilers are replaced when they are at least 15 years old

w External doors are replaced when they are at least 30 years old

w MOT upgrades are carried out once every five years

w Electrical tests are carried out once every five years

w Gas safety tests are carried out annually

When your home is due for any improvement works to be carried out, we will let you know what work we are planning, when it is likely to happen and who will do it. Depending on what’s involved, we may contact you to discuss the work in more detail and offer you the opportunity to choose what it will look like, for example, bathroom wall and floor tiles.

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